A&E Orders More of 'Live PD' Spinoff 'Live Rescue'

Courtesy of A+E Networks

The companion series is hosted by Ashleigh Banfield.

A&E is adding more episodes of Live Rescue to the original order, based on its success, similar to that of parent series Live PD. The spinoff is getting another 10 episodes after a strong entry Monday nights.

The series, hosted by Ashleigh Banfield, follows the Live PD format and translates the action to emergency first responders. It has been pulling 1.3 million viewers to its two-hour Monday block, a 150 percent improvement from the typical time slot performance on the network.

“The initial response by viewers to Live Rescue has been extremely rewarding,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, A&E Network executive vp and head of programming. “This is a challenging show to produce, but our incredible partners at Big Fish have once again made it possible for viewers across the country to see the work of first responders and the challenges they face every day in real time through this groundbreaking series.”

Like Live PD, Live Rescue comes to A&E from MGM’s Big Fish Entertainment. Dan Cesareo, Lucilla D’Agostino, John Zito and Jordana Starr serve as executive producers. The season one episode count now stands at 19.

LivePD currently ranks as cable’s No. 1 justice series — yes, that is apparently a genre — and is the No. 1 show on all of cable Friday and Saturday nights. It has prompted yet another revival of interest in live programming, as evidenced by Fox’s own attempt at capitalizing on the franchise’s heat with the Wednesday premiere of First Responders Live.